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Monday, May 9, 2016

CONGRATULATIONSAND BEST WISHES TO ZAFFAR

Unusually, Aijaz Hussain broke the bad news. "Sir he
has been shot into head and just rushed to Soura. There's no chance of his
survival", Aijaz said. It took us just 10 seconds to charge my Maruti-800
outside Daily Excelsior bureau office. Traffic rush was just half of today's.
In the next 17 minutes, we were at his bed in the Emergency ward of SKIMS.
Contrary to our wild apprehensions, we found him in full senses. Blood was
still gushing out of his wound between his eyes and nostrils. As usual Barkha had
reached there before everyone else. She looked traumatised and, for the first
time, was not doing interviews, bytes and PTC. For a second, I began pressing
myself to believe that he would survive even as, to my knowledge, nobody hit
this way, had. We returned only after doctors assured us that the chances of
his survival were bright as, they pointed out, his critical tissues and organs
had escaped MIRACULOUSLY. Yes, it was a miracle, providential escape, indeed. Post-recovery,
however, I felt he fall into a depression, thinking every time that he had been
the target and would be hit fatally next time. I just beseeched him to
frequently visit my office. He did. It took me around a month to make him
believe that he had been shot for mistaken identity. He had done nothing of the
sort we did every day. Perhaps a year or two later, we saw him join Barkha's
NDTV and doing wonderful stories---initially from Jammu and later from
Srinagar. He was a sub editor at daily KASHMIR
IMAGES when two youngmen wielding pistols barged into his office, at
Lambert Lane in Srinagar, and asked where's Zaffar Iqbal. "I'm Zaffar. How
can I help you", he had replied, only to be answered with a bullet in
point blank range. That was on May 29, 2002.

Many many congratulations to very dear colleague and a
member of my news group KASHMIR FIRSTPOST, Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, on occasion of
his NIKAH today. Wish the couple all the blessings of Almighty and an
everlasting partnership.